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D. H. APPLEGATE, Jul. 7 BASE FOR SUPPORTING MOLDED PLASHC ARTICLES- I APPLICATION FILED m 17. 1919.

1,324, !535. Patented Dec. 9,1919.

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DANIEL H. APPLEGATE, JR., GE PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE PHILADELPHIA. TEXTILE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYL- VANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

BASE FOR SUPPORTING MOLDED. PLASTIC ARTICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 9, 1919.

Application filed July 17, 1919. Serial No. 311,598.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL H. APPLE- GATE, J11, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have .ments in a base on which porcelain, or other clay products, such as bath tubs, glass pots, do, are molded and upon which the articles remain while being dried.

The object of my invention is to provide a base which will allow the articles to shrink while drying without cracking or separating.

In molding clay articles, such as bath tubs, the plastic material is formed on base and on side molds. The side molds, after the article has been shaped and dried out suiiiciently, are removed, leaving the base as the sole support for the molded artiole. and as the article being molded shrinks considerably in drying, where the base is merely a plain slab of plaster of Paris, or wood, the weight of the article being dried is such that it often cracks because it cannot slide freely on the base, but by my invention the article is free to shrink, as the base is made up of sections which have less bearing upon rails or surfaces than the article has upon the sections or" the base, consequently, the base sections move with the artif cles in shrinking.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1, is a longitudinal sectional view, showing a porcelain bath tub resting on my improved base;

Fig. 2, is a transverse sectional view;

Fig. 3, is a plan view of the base, showing some of the removable sections withdrawn;

Fig. 4:, is an enlarged transverse sectional view on the line 4-4:, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5, is a view similar to Fig. e, with one of the detachable sections partly withpor- Referring to the drawings, 1 isa series of U-shaped rails resting on a suitable foundation with the rounded portion uppermost.

These rails carry a series of permanent sec trons 2, whlch are spaced apart and alternate withthe removable sections. These removable sections are tapered, as shown,

and wedge sections 4 rest on the rails 1 and support the movable sections 3 of the base. The sections 3 are preferably shod on the under side with ametal plate 5 having upturned ends which engage the sections 3 which are ofplaster of Paris, or other suitable niaterial, and the wedges 4c are made of metallic channels, as clearly show-n in Fig. 6. The permanent sections 2 are also shod on the under side by metallic plates 6 which rest directly upon the rails 1. I I

When an article, such as a porcelain bath tub, is molded all of the sections are in,

place, forming a solid base of plaster of Paris, or similar material. The molds for forming the sides and ends of the bath tub, or other article where side molds are required, are then placed in position and the tub is molded in the usual manner. After the material of the tub-has set sufficiently, the side molds'are removed, leaving the tub supported wholly on the base formed by the sections 2 and 3. WVhen the material of the tub is in proper condition the wedges 4 are withdrawn, allowing the sections 3 to drop from the molded 'bath tub so that it can be removed, leaving the permanent sections 2 spaced a given distance apart and supported on the rails l.

As the molded article shrinks in drying, the sections 2 of the base move with it on the rails l. The bearing surface of the article on the sections 2 is greater than the bearing surface of the sections on the rails so that the sections will move on therails, consequently, there is very little tendency of the tub to crack as it is free to move.

By the removal of the sections 3, air is allowed to circulate freely under the article being dried and, consequently, a more uniform drying results.

In manufacturing such an article as a bath tub it is generally necessary to pro- Vide side and end molds, but other articles, such as glass pots. for instance, are built up on the base without side molds, or other side supports.

While I have described the bottom sections made up of plaster of Paris, or other plastic material, it will be understood that in some instances these sections may be made of wood, or other substance, without departing from the essential features of the invention.

When the article is particularly heavy anti-friction rolls or balls may be located between the rails or other supports and the supporting sections 3.

In Fig. 7, I have illustrated anti-friction rollers 7 located on the under surface of the sections 3 which roll on the rails or floor 1 I claim 1. A base upon which molded articles are formed and dried, said base consisting of sections; and supports for the sections, said sections being spaced apart and arranged to move with the article supported thereby as it shrinks in drying.

2. A base upon which molded articles are formed and dried, said base consisting of a series of sections; and supports on which the sections rest, some of said sections being removable so that they can be withdrawn after the article has been molded and so as to allow a space between the remaining sections, in order to permit the said tions to move with the article'as it shrinks in drying.

3. A. base upon which molded articles are dried, said base consisting of rail sections mounted thereon, said sections being spaced apart; and a series of removable sections located in the space between the other sections so that, when the article is molded, a solid'base is formed and, when the article is drying, the removable sections can be withdrawn, leaving the other sections to support the article and to move with said article in shrinking.

at. The combination in a base for supporting porcelain articles during their:

manufacture, of rails; a series of sections mounted on said rails and spaced apart; a series of removable sections mounted in the space between the other sections, said removable sections being tapered; and wedges located between the said removable sections and the rails so that, on the withdrawal of the wedges, the removable sec tions will be depressed so that they can be withdrawn without injuring the molded article, thus leaving the remaining sections to support the article while being dried.

5. The combination of a base upon which porcelain articles can be molded and dried, said base consisting of a series of sections spaced apart and shod with metal on the under side; longitudinal rails, U-shaped in cross section, having their rounded edges uppermost and supporting said base sections; a series of removable sections inclined on the under side and shed with metal; and a channeled wedge under each removable section and supported by the rails, the body of both sections being made of a plastic material and arranged so that, when the removable sections are withdrawn, the molded article will be support-ed by the other sections and these sections will move on the base with the article as it shrinks.

DANIEL I-I. APPLEGATE, JR. 

